’Appy to oblige

My minor league baseball adventures took me south and west of Winchester last weekend, taking of an opportunity to triple the number of Appalachian League teams I’ve seen in one day.

That’s right. Triple.

First, a little background. The Appy and the Pioneer leagues share the bottom rung of the climb to the majors. Technically, the Gulf Coast and Arizona leagues are lower, but their games are free-admission affairs played at noon on the back fields at the spring training complexes. That means the players who take the field in places like Missoula and Bluefield have begun their trek toward stardom.

But it’s still a long trip, and when you are a Mariner in Pulaski, 3,000 miles from Seattle, it can seem like an uphill climb. And it is, because Everett, Beloit, High Desert, Jackson and Tacoma all stand in your way.

But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Somehow over the years I had managed to see seven of the eight teams in the Pioneer (I’m coming after you Helena!) but only two in the Appy, despite the fact that the Pulaski Mariners are just 210 miles from here (yes, that IS closer than Idaho Falls). Steven and I stopped in Danville to see the Braves play the Bluefield Orioles eight years ago, and I had been meaning to see more of the teams that are spread between Tennessee, North Carolina and the Virginias, but never got around to it. Until Sunday.

I set out at 10 a.m., and managed to reach Princeton, W.Va., a shade over four hours later. The Rays were hosting the Greeneville Astros, and for $5 I got a box seat, and another $4 got me two slices of pizza and a can of root beer. Greeneville blew the game open with a hit-and-mistake fueled, five-run fourth inning. I had to hit the road at the start of the eighth, but the final score was the same 8-3 it was when I headed down I-77 to Pulaski.

There I found a gem of a ballpark that I cannot wait to visit again next summer. Sadly for the Mariners, they committed six errors in the first three innings, and despite out-hitting Elizabethton, the Twins managed an easy 11-3 win. I also got to see Cory Williamson, a former Winchester Royal, pitch two innings for Elizabethton, so there was a local element to the trip.

By the way, admission to Calfee Park was $4, and a bratwurst and a Coke set me back another $4. Since there was no parking fee at either venue, I managed to hit two games and get eats for $17. Now THAT’s a great price.

The gasoline for a 500-mile round trip on the other hand….